The Crossroads
by The StarWatcher
Summary: [Speculative Crack] There is no such thing as coincidence in fate. All fates have been set. After a long time, each fate will await the awakening of a new tale. Riku, Kairi, and Sora dream of familiar strangers.


_**Disclaimer**: Should I even bother? I mean, if I'm writing a FANFIC about it, you know I don't own the rights, right?_

_**First warning**: Not proof read. Reading over it myself, it seems fine, but I can't self-check to save my life. If you see something grievous (and the majority of run-on sentences are intentional, by the way) in the grammar, let me know and I'll fix it._

_**And, second warning**: This isn't really speculative in any way. It's just some crack-theory I came up with after coming across Final Mix+'s Secret Ending (here's the spoiler warning) that'll most likely turn out to be completely wrong. So flame away! I don't care! I just find this funny and got egged on by a few friends of mine - they know who they are._

_Have fun!_

* * *

And his mind freezes as His icy cold hands lock upon his helmet. And then the Other is there, knocking him off the cliff in a whirlwind of Keyblades and he can't kick free of His icy grip. He can't get free! He can't reach Him or the Other with his Keyblade! He can't free himself and she and him need his help! 

He knows one of two things is coming and as He brings him closer to the edge, he knows which it is and she is looking up at him with eyes so full of fear - the first time he's ever seen her afraid in his entire life - and he hopes and he prays she and him get out of this alive. They NEED to get out of this alive, or this whole thing, this whole journey to find them was a total waste!

Was this really his fate? To fight so hard, to come so far, to search for days-weeks-months-years to be reunited with these two and find his goal only to be ripped away from them? Wasn't the blood, the tears, the pain, the loss ENOUGH to defeat Him? Hadn't he been through enough? Hadn't she? Hadn't him?

WASN'T IT ENOUGH?!

And the ground is coming up to meet him and he's sick to his stomach and wants to throw up but can't since his insides are frozen - his heart pumping hard against the chill to push flash frozen blood through his veins and he can hardly breathe and the ground is getting closer closer CLOSER and all he can think through the pain and the anguish and the heartache is -

_'It shouldn't end this way!'_

And Sora wakes in the night, buried in a cocoon of blankets in a bid to get warm and a fear that freezes him from the inside out gripping his heart and soul and mind as he breathes hotly into his hands in a bid to ward off the chill that shouldn't exist on a balmy summer night such as this.

He doesn't want to die that way. Frozen to the core, but if it meant Kairi and Riku could live, he knew he would do it in a heartbeat. Anything for them, for in his mind those two deserved nothing less.

* * *

And her heart stops for just a moment as he comes tumbling down the cliff, his Blade smashing - SMASHING - into hundreds of crystalline pieces and him skidding along the ground after that drop and practically into her lap for her to see the horrified look in his eyes. 

Oh dear Goddesses, he's dead. He's dead and if he's not, he's going to die. Darkness and Light are her elements of choice - Darkness and Light can't melt ice. Especially ice that has frozen over a body in its entirety. They can heal and destroy tissue, but they cannot break through ice without hurting the body more - especially ice so cold and so thick it can make even the iron in a Keyblade shatter into dust on impact. She's shocked his body is even in one piece!

And the hopeless look he's giving her. Like he knows nothing can be done, and he accepts it, but is still oh so afraid of what is to come. What would happen if He wins, if the Other seizes upon any one of them, but he would forgive she and him, forgive them if that really did come to pass. That eternal look of forgiveness he always gives her in twin blue eyes like the big vast sky at high noon back in the Town they grew up in telling her he forgives EVERYTHING of the two of them. From her betrayal so many years ago to her almost constant disappearances over the years to her guilt to not being able to help him NOW despite knowing she would if she could and - DAMMIT! WASN'T IT ENOUGH?!

And then there's a rush of wind as she looks overhead to see the most terrifying thing that could happen at this precise moment and only one thought is passing through her head as this occurs -

_'It cannot end this way!'_

And Riku awakens with a harsh sob and falls out of bed, his lungs hot and burning and his entire body aching from injuries it had never acquired and his hands numb in the way only overuse of magic does and salty hot tears running down his face as the anguish of the dream grips them together.

And he knows in his Heart of Hearts, he would not be able to survive it if that dream ever came to pass. If he couldn't protect Sora and Kairi, he was just as good as dead

* * *

And his very Soul stills as the Light of Kingdom Hearts Itself shines upon them. He is as good as dead and she can barely move in her anguish, so it is up to him to save them all. He has nothing to lose anymore. His dearest friends are as good as dead at this moment and - dammit - it was their own choice to seek him out here, but it's still his fault for not being strong enough to protect them for a change! 

He isn't that weak little boy that needed constant saving anymore. He knows she and him meant well, but he came here alone for a reason. The Creature is dead by his own hand and, if given the chance, he will kill Him and His Other as well. It is why he drew Them out by coming to the Crossroads to begin with!

He isn't a Knight despite the armor, he knows this.

He isn't a pampered brat anymore, he knows this.

He isn't a true Master yet, even with a Key in both hands, he knows this.

But, they are his friends, his comrades, his family, and he has to try to save them, save EVERYTHING - even if it's already much too late as He calls down Kingdom Hearts Itself upon them!

Even if he has to destroy his entire being in doing so - he will MAKE IT enough!

And as what feels like the wrath of the Gods themselves flows through his veins, as the World, nay, perhaps the very UNIVERSE itself begins to crumble around them, the one thing running through his mind in such a strong tone it is almost as if everyone who came before him and everyone who will come after him is ordering that -

_'It WILL NOT end this way!'_

And Kairi awakes, her Keyblade in hand and the blankets kicked off and the adrenaline pumping in her veins. She glares at the flowers and cringes at the distinct scent of Paopu fruit and flowers and the ocean and knows that, one day, she'll get a Keyblade with a good chunk of iron in it and she will be strong enough one day so what happened to those dear to her in her dream will not come to pass.

* * *

_Well, that's all! There's your daily dose of crack!  
_

_Hope you had fun with this!_

_Love,_

_Watcher_


End file.
